Day 4

We maintained our habit of being late risers this morning - stirring around 7:45am and getting up around 8:30am. I just cannot abide the cold int he morning, and it would seem Ramius cannot either since he normally stays in the sleeping bag longer than I do. We awoke alongside several of the shelter's bunkmates and had a nice breakfast with them until we departed around 9:30am. Notably, this breakfast lead to our being christened 'Boone and the Goon.'

The trail became more and more covered in debris as we moved north-east, presumably from Hurricane Irene last fall. And now comes the hard part of the story: I injured myself. We cam upon a fallen tree that was lengthwise along the trail, and I set down my poles so I could carry Ramius along/across the tree's length. When I returned for my poles and pivoted to face Ramius, my foot slipped and I fell. This caused my right leg to slam up and into the tree's trunk. My leg became swollen and I developed a limp.

I made the judgement call to bypass Stratton Mountain and take the side trail 'Stratton Pond Trail' until it met up again with the LT. My leg became progressively worse, so I decided I needed a night off of the trail in Manchester Center. We continued along the LT past the turnoff to William B. Douglass shelter, but broke away from the trail near Prospect Rock and continued along Old Rootville Road into Manchester.

We ended up staying here, at the Avalanche Motel Manchester, and I am currently eating some delicious pizza with my leg elevated. All I can say is thank god for Vitamin I! I have a doctor's appointment scheduled first thin in the morning to see if I can continue immediately or need to take some time off of the trail. We shall see.

-A

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Miles Traveled: 14.75

Miles from CA: 224.25

Miles from MA: 48.05

Total Miles Traveled: 53.45

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